Typography

VOCABULARY

• typeface = a design for a set of characters

• size = how large or small

• alignment = arrangement in a line; left, right or both

• format = the way that it is arranged or set out

• spacing = the distance between

• typography = the art of arranging type

• glyph = one character in a font set

DETAILS

• use only one or two fonts in your digital solutions

• typeface (or font) have several characteristics including the way they look

• serif or sans serif; the last m above has serif (or decorarive marks) remember that sans means no, so sans serif means no decorative marks

• serif is supposed to be easier to read on paper, sans serif easier on screen; do your own analysis on this; What do you think?

• the weight of line used - bold or naturally heavier within a typeface (or font set)

• uppercase / lowercase; most fonts come in uppercase and lowercase. Which ones don't?

SIZE

• the size - how big

• size for fonts, measured in 'points'  72pt  is 1" or 2.5cm in height

• size is standardised across all applications 

• a size 16 pt font in Micrsosoft Word is similar in size to size 16 in Apple's Pages

Alignment

• alignment; left align = text lines are rendered flush left, centre = text lines are centered, right align = text lines are rendered flush right

Format (TBC)

• bold, italics, underlined

Spacing

• Tracking is the equal space between all the letters in a word, eg   w  o  r  d      or larger spacing    w    o    r    d.

• Kerning is the uneven spaces between some letters in a word. The letters r  and  n when together like this, rn , actually look like an m

• You can change the kerning in some software to automatically fix problem letter combinations

The W3schools website has an area where you can experiment with what a font will look like from your code input. w3shools here

Learn more from creative blog and font rendering at Smash Magazine here